Filip Radu N03812

History and Memory I

Brick Lane Podcast

Word Count: 1,444

Brick Lane has for centuries served as a gateway to immigrants who were either
fleeing oppression in their own countries or were seeking a better way of life in the United
Kingdom. Over time it has served as a home to French Huguenots, Eastern European
jews and Bengalis. The street has played a key role in the history of immigration into
Britain and still has that role today, 400 years later. Many historical buildings and locations
have developed into sites of memory as they became “symbolic elements of the memorial
heritage” of the communities that lived near them.1 Just to name a few, one can note the
importance of: the Jamme Masjid Mosque, the Altab Ali park or even the North end of the
street which has become renowned for its traditional jewish bagels shops. The area has
seen its part of racial violence and interethnic tensions but over time it has become a place
of tolerance and understanding. Walking down the street can be like somewhat of a trip
through history as every ethnicity has left its imprint on the area. That is why there are
several museums dedicated to this long line of immigrants who have passed through this
street, each assuring its continuity through change.

One of the most remarkable sites of memory on Brick Lane is the Jamme Masjid
mosque. It was originally a church built in 1743 by the newly moved in Huguenots, called
La Neuve Eglise. Following the outlawing of the practice of Protestantism in France by
King Louis XIV in 1685, a large number of French Protestants moved to London to escape
the persecution. A great number of Frenchmen came from Lyons which was the capital of
the French Silk industry, and implicitly they brought their trades with them. Many
immigrants were poor, and Londoners at the time would only consider the East End as an
impediment to their journey to North London. The fact that the surroundings and facilities
were poor meant that the refugees could afford to live there. However, not before long
many of them developed their own businesses which prospered and so did their owners.2
Brick lane showcases some architecturally remarkable buildings, a testament to the
entrepreneurs’ success. An example of such a building would be the 1719 built home of the
Ogier Family at 19 Princelet Street. The history of this building originates as the home of a
successful french immigrant family which was later divided into lodgings and workshops. It
also served as a industrial school headed by Mrs Mary Ellen Hawkins and as the
headquarters of the jewish Loyal Friends Friendly Society.3

In 1808 the building at 59 Brick lane that is today a mosque, became the home of
the London Society for Promoting Christianity Among the Jews, but it was short lived as in
1819 it transformed into a methodist chapel. There has always been a strong link between
methodists and this area of london as John Wesley used to live in the neighborhood and
delivered his first sermon at the Black Eagle Street Chapel4. In 1809, following the

1 Pierre Nora, Realms of Memory: Rethinking the French past, Columbia:1997, pp. 17
2 Sukhdev Sandhu, Come Hungry, leave edgy in London Review of Books, 17.11.2010,<
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v25/n19/sukhdev-sandhu/come-hungry-leave-edgy>
3 19 Princelet Street, 17.11.2010, < http://www.19princeletstreet.org.uk/about.html >
4 Michael Leapman, Capital Gains: Brick Lane to Broadgate: Within earshot of the bells of Shoreditch lie
three centuries of London's history, 17.11.2010, < http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/capital-gains-brick-
lane-to-broadgate-within-earshot-of-the-bells-of-shoreditch-lie-three-centuries-of-londons-history-
1449021.html
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History and Memory I

pogroms in Russia, a great influx of Eastern European Jews swept into the area, and the
site became the Machzike Adass Synagogue, becoming a mosque only in 1976. It is no
surprise that this monument became a site of memory as so many different ethnicities and
religions have left an imprint either symbolically or physically on the building itself and on
its surroundings. On the beautifully crafted sundial there is a latin inscription which reads
Umbra Sumus, meaning “we are shadows”. There could not be a more elegant phrase to
describe the rich history of Brick lane than the sun dial inscription. So many immigrant
families have come through Brick Lane only to integrate themselves into British society and
move on.Right across from the mosque, one can read on a window arch the letters CH N
Katz. This used to be a shop owned by a jewish family which sold paper bags and string.
Unfortunately the high cost of rent forced them out of business but these few letters will
always prove how change has always been the standard on Brick Lane.

Another very important site of memory is the Altab Ali park, which sits where the
former 14th Century chapel called St. Mary Matfelon used to be. The chapel was
destroyed in 1940 during The Blitz, and later became a graveyard and then St. Mary’s
park. It was renamed in 1998 to Altab Ali Park to honor the memory of a Bengali worker
who was murdered on 4th of May 1978. At one of the entrances to the park there is an
elegant arch designed by David Peterson as a tribute to the murdered man and is made up
of a complex Bengali-style pattern which is meant to suggest the tolerant mixing of cultures
in East London.5 This place has become a site of memory to many Bengalis as it seems to
represent the sacrifices made by those immigrants who left their home countries to seek a
better living in Britain. The park itself seems oddly positioned among a cluster of housing
developments and old Georgian Huguenot built houses, which appears to evoke a
cosmopolitan and rich history, but not one without its tribulations. The area has been
riddled throughout its history by racist encounters between the local immigrant population
and extremist British groups6. However there were also tensions between same religion
groups as well, David Feldman argues that many Anglo-Jews were hostile to the
newcomers from Eastern Europe as they were afraid they might spark anti-Semitic feelings
to the British public at large, and hence they felt their own positions were endangered.7

The street itself, can be said to be a site of memory, as many different traditional
shops and trades can still be found in the area today. There are many silk and fabric shops
still around, one of them at 44 Brick lane and another at 24 Brick lane. The North of the
street is known for its traditional bagel shops, the one located at 155 Brick Lane
advertising itself as the “oldest” and the “best”. However hard it may be to attest such
claims, the general feel of the area, with the two bagel shops right next to one another is
clear evidence of a jewish heritage that considers Brick Lane as their initial British home,
and a site of memory. The mere fact that shops could get away with such slogans, further
proves that the jewish identity of the neighborhood is deeply instilled not only in the mind of
the locals but also that of the visitors. The experience of a “corridor through time” could

5 Whitechapel, 17.11.2010, <

http://web.archive.org/web/20080328050646/http://exploringeastlondon.co.uk/Whitechapel/Whitechapel.htm#
Altabarch>
6Sukhdev Sandhu, Come Hungry, leave edgy in London Review of Books, 17.11.2010,<
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v25/n19/sukhdev-sandhu/come-hungry-leave-edgy>
7 David Feldman, Review on The Social Politics of Anglo-Jewry 1880-1920, The Journal of Modern
History, Vol. 64, No. 4 (Dec., 1992), pp. 795-797,Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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History and Memory I

be applied to Dennis Sever’s house on 18 Folgate Street, near Brick Lane, where an
American-born immigrant refurbished his house into a museum with ten rooms, each
having a different feel and identity which reflects the diverse history Spitalfields.
a
In conclusion, Brick Lane and its surroundings seem to have blossomed into a
microcosm which is a site of memory itself along with its iconic buildings and landmarks.
Few streets in the world can boast such a rich cultural heritage which seems to have
engraved itself in the local architecture, stories and memory. The tides of immigrants that
have passed through it have effectively managed to create a living museum of their
beginnings which serves as point of reference to their descendants. In a sense, walking
down Brick Lane is almost like living history, a place where change is normal and always
welcomed.

Bibliography:

Pierre Nora, Realms of Memory: Rethinking the French past, Columbia:1997

Sukhdev Sandhu, Come Hungry, leave edgy in London Review of Books, 17.11.2010,<
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v25/n19/sukhdev-sandhu/come-hungry-leave-edgy>

19 Princelet Street, 17.11.2010, < http://www.19princeletstreet.org.uk/about.html >

Michael Leapman, Capital Gains: Brick Lane to Broadgate: Within earshot of the bells of Shoreditch lie three
centuries of London's history, 17.11.2010, < http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/capital-gains-brick-lane-to-
broadgate-within-earshot-of-the-bells-of-shoreditch-lie-three-centuries-of-londons-history-1449021.html

Whitechapel, 17.11.2010, <

http://web.archive.org/web/20080328050646/http://exploringeastlondon.co.uk/Whitechapel/Whitechapel.htm#
Altabarch>

David Feldman, Review on The Social Politics of Anglo-Jewry 1880-1920, The Journal of Modern History,
Vol. 64, No. 4 (Dec., 1992), pp. 795-797,Published by: The University of Chicago Press